Kiss Me With Those Red Lips
by Ane Hoshi
Summary: An ex-prostitue named Rouge becomes a pawn in a game to stop the Apocolpyse as she seduces a troubled young man named Eric for her savior Key, who wants a dangerous sword that could bring on the end of the world. Romance, lime, violence, etc good stuff.
1. Default Chapter

A woman wearing a black wool jacket that went to her knees, black capri's and a tight red tube top walked down the sidewalk of downtown Tokyo. Invisible behind her coat, the woman carried an empty scabbard. A cold wind blew, whipping her fiery red hair back. She didn't turn her head to watch the usual scene of urban Japan: namely the many cars, motorcycles, pedestrians and bicyclists zipping and crawling through the streets and sidewalks. No, the woman's head was straight ahead as she approached Tokyo Tower.  
  
Looks like rain, thought a young man on a sporty motorcycle. He shrunk further into his heavy leather jacket against the wind. Stuck at a stoplight, the man watched the people walking on the sidewalk. They were all in such a hurry! The gray sky enhanced the black-and-white scene; everything was in grim, gray shades. The people walking by had little bright color. Most had the traditional Japanese features of dark hair and eyes. Many wore black or dark blue business suits. Businesswomen also dressed in dark skirt or pants suits. Others had on dark trench coats, jackets, any clothing was dark. It was very surreal. The honking of a horn reminded the watching man to accelerate.  
  
The first drops of rain began to fall as the motorcyclist started along the road again. The faint rumbled of thunder rolled across the sky and the pedestrians hurried even more. Suddenly, out of the corner of the man's eye, some color caught his attention. His eyes had found a woman, wearing black pants and a black coat like the others, but she also wore a red tube top. She saw him watching her. For a fraction of a second their eyes met and she licked her lips, deep red with a glossy lipstick.   
  
A person in a dark leather trench coat was waiting at the corner for the woman in the red tube top. "Rouge. Are you prepared?"  
  
"Of course Key." The woman replied as she pulled some sunglasses from the interior breast pocket of her coat. "Am I not always prepared?"   
  
Key looked up as a rain droplet hit him on the head. "Too bad it had to rain," he said dryly.  
  
"Nonsense. The rain makes it easier. Who would come to Tokyo Tower if it were raining? Fewer people make it easier for us."  
  
Key nodded in neutral agreement and walked the rest of the distance to the tower with Rouge. When the reached the main deck, there were few people as Rouge had guessed. "Good luck my friend. Make no mistakes and be filled with honor." Key bent at the waist and kissed Rouge's hand politely before walking off. Rouge watched over the railing as Key opened his black umbrella and walked off into what was now a torrential downpour.  
  
When is he going to get here? thought Rouge. She heard Key's voice in her mind. "He will bear the mark of death. You must get the sword from him at any cost, or the void will open." The void…that great death machine. It would-Rouge was interrupted as she sensed something behind her. Oh! It was only a man. No big deal. It was hard to tell his hair color through the rose tinted lenses of the glasses, but no matter. But as the man unzipped his leather jacket Rouge saw his shirt. It was a t-shirt. Black. And on that black was a detailed print of a skull and cross bones. Rouge gasped and put her hand to her red lips. The mark of death. The man. It was he who held the key.  
  
Rouge tried to step away. The railing was cutting into her back but she couldn't move. This man filled Rouge with inexorable fear. She knew she could not do what Key had chosen her for. Even after all of them, this one she knew she couldn't even come near. Rouge ran towards the elevator furthest from the man and slid in just as the doors were about to shut. For a moment her hand was caught in the elevator door and as she pried it free a silver ring slipped from her finger and clattered to the ground.   
  
The young man who had filled Rouge with such fear had been watching her. He had followed her up from the street and had inconspicuously watched her from behind his black hair. He had seen her run into the elevator, and he had seen the glitter of something falling from the air. The man went to see what had dropped and saw a small silvery ring. Inside the ring was an inscription. "a Rose Apocalypse approaches. Angel Rouge descends from the sky." Only four words out of the ten were started with capital letters. The man shook his head and pocketed the ring as he went back down to where his bike was parked.  
  
Rouge wrapped her body in a red silk kimono and sank into a beanbag chair on Key's floor. "Have you figured out who belongs to the license plate?" she asked softly. She rubbed a little raspberry lip-gloss on her mouth and braided her hair, which fell just past her slender shoulders. All her skin was deathly pale, but her shoulders were especially so and she was proud of them.   
  
"It belongs to one Eric Rous. Seventeen, parentless, a criminal record since age thirteen, stops at age fifteen. Rents an apartment on Roku Roku Street. Owns a motorcycle. That's about it. I'll find more later if you need it."  
  
"Thanks Key. I'll start work tomorrow." Rouge collapsed onto a pile of blankets and a thick feather mattress heaped on the floor. She was asleep in moments, despite her apprehension and fear of what was to begin tomorrow. Key smiled as he shut down his laptop and switched off the light. Rouge looked like a little angel when she was asleep. She would have been innocent, curious and sweet if things hadn't gone for her they way they had. Now she was rough and sharp like the edge of a knife. Any trace of innocence was whipped out save for those moments she spent sleeping. Key smiled and went to bed. It was late, even for a creature of the night like himself.  
  
Eric grunted and smacked the alarm clock. It was one hour before noon. God…he had spent all night online searching for the words on the ring that mysterious woman had dropped. What he had found was an article on the bad effect of brothels on Tokyo. He had read this excerpt: "One of the most notorious brothels in Tokyo is the Apocalypse Rose. People are drawn in with the driving idea of getting their kicks in before the world ends. Although the Countess Vanilla is the main attraction, there is a general undercurrent of anticipation for a far more talented strumpet, Angel Rouge, or the red angel. Apparently better run than most business of its kind, the Apocalypse Rose is still a deplorable scar on Tokyo. The crowds it attracts are by no means small and the…"  
  
That had answered a great deal of questions. Could the woman who had dropped this ring be Angel Rouge? There was something about her; a mystique and a secrecy that drew you in and at the same time enveloped her in a protective shield.  
  
The man pulled some sweatpants on over his boxers and walked shirtless out side with a bag of trash. The trash collectors didn't come until one, so there was plenty of time. Suddenly young man with a safety pin in his lip and one in each ear came and greeted Eric. "Hey man! What's in your life right now?" asked the new comer.  
  
"Nothing much Moshe. I don't have any coffee so I'm going down to the convenience store. How is Akia?"   
  
"High as usual. Her hair is blue lately. I'm thinking of dumping her, she's selling herself out to this Yoshi character." Said Moshe in a bored tone.   
  
"Yhea. That's sounds like the usual. I got to go, I have some stuff to check out today. I'm going to get another tattoo. I have to go before I lose my nerve. Maybe I'll see you at the Green Tea warehouse rave tonight. " Eric moved to go back into the apartment building as Moshe grunted out a sayonara.   
  
Eric snatched a threadbare white muscle shirt from on top of a speaker deck. He pulled it over his head as he slipped on his sandals and went out the door. Rouge was already at the connivance store. She had driven by on her motorbike, purposely trying to figure out Eric's next move. She had stopped at the side, feigning a search for directions and then driven on once she knew Eric was headed to the store. She looked at a few magazines and the potato chips until Eric arrived.  
  
As he walked into the store Eric's bleary senses caught onto two things. The first was the reassuring scent of coffee. The second was a glimpse of red hair, just past the shoulder. Was that…the woman from Tokyo Tower? Angel Rouge? Rouge herself had seen Eric come in from a reflection in the freezer door. She looked over her shoulder as if another product caught her eye. She let herself glance coyly at Eric, a look of shy curiosity. A look that asked if she had seen him before. She sauntered over to the coffee machine and filled a Styrofoam cup with a little poor quality mocha cappuccino. Eric came up behind her and pressed his cup to the lever that poured black coffee. "Haven't I seen you somewhere before?" asked Eric.  
  
Rouge turned around as though surprised and blinked before replying with, "Perhaps. I go to a lot of places." She stopped talking for a moment as she put a plastic top onto her cup. She turned slowly and looked at Eric for a minute. He was handsome with longish black hair and sharp black eyes. His skin was pale and she could see through the thin, washed out material of his shirt that he was neither skinny nor muscular. He had a tattoo on his arm of a snake with a heart in its mouth and a sword piercing the heart. "Wait! Aren't you the handsome man from Tokyo Tower yesterday?"  
  
"I saw you there." Said Eric. "You ran away."  
  
"I was late for a meeting."  
  
"I have your ring." Eric suddenly remembered and then grinned. Rouge gasped. So that was where it had gone. It was important to her, a gift from Key. Rouge couldn't believe that Key had told her to do this. But she would do anything for him.  
  
"Will you give it back then? Mr…Mr?"  
  
"Rous. And it's at my apartment. I can go get it if you want. It's just that, well, I wasn't expecting to bump into you again."   
  
"I'll wait for you here Mr. Rous." Rouge half smiled and went to the counter to pay for her coffee. Eric quickly slid enough yen for both drinks to the cashier and Rouge looked over her shoulder with a face of surprise. He had paid for her drink?   
  
"Wait here Rouge." Said Eric as he hurried off to his apartment. The cashier was looking at her strangely so Rouge went outside and leaned against the wall to wait. She hadn't been surprised by the fact he had paid for her drink so much as the fact that things were going so utterly perfectly. Rouge had been desensitized to gifts and pretty words from men. Her life before Key found her had taken care of that defect that many other women had. But how had he known her name? Unless he had figured out the meaning of the ring. And that could be utterly dangerous.  
  
Eric came walking down the sidewalk again whistling a song by B'z. He saw Rouge leaning against the wall of the convenience store. Her red hair was fanned out around her face and her red tube top contrasted sharply with her snow-white jeans. "Here is the ring. It is yours isn't it?" Eric placed the ring in Rouge's hand and watched her thin, delicate fingers play with it and bring it close to her face so she could read the inscription. Rouge nodded that it was hers and smiled.   
  
"Thank you for returning it. My-" Rouge had been planning on saying that the ring had been given to her by her brother, but Eric interrupted.  
  
"It's okay. You don't have to tell me. I know who you are Rouge." Eric grinned again in a shy sort of way and then leaned close to whisper in the redhead's ear, "Apocalypse Rose. You work as a brothel girl." Rouge sighed with relief, so all he knew was that she was an ex-prostitute and that she had once worked at the Apocalypse Rose.  
  
"I used to work. I'm looking for a job as a waitress. I don't want that kind of business anymore." Rough looked a little faraway for a second before she remember where she was and smiled. "Do you…do you have a favorite restaurant? Where I could work I mean…"   
  
Eric thought for a moment before replying. "There is this nice little Italian place, just a little cafe run by an Italian lady and her Japanese husband. I guess you couldn't make a lot of money, but it's something. The lady is expecting a baby and could use the help."  
  
Rouge laughed a little and nodded. "Show me where it is. We can ride on my bike." Eric agreed and followed Rouge to the motorcycle a few yards away. As soon as they picked up a little speed out of the parking lot, Rouge felt Eric slip his hands around her waist. Unconsciously she winced, but then reminded herself that she had let more things from worse people be done with complete consent. It was one last job.  
  
At the restaurant Eric had guided Rouge to, Eric talked to the couple about hiring a little help. He pointed to Rouge and explained the she was out of work and needed a job. The couple smiled and talked by themselves for a few minutes. Eric walked back over to Rouge and jammed his hands into his pockets. "I did the best I could. And I didn't tell them what your old job was."   
  
"This is the third nice thing you've done for me in one day Rous-sama. Now I have to return the favors. What can I do for you?"   
  
"Have coffee with me tomorrow? I can't think of much else just now. We can leave it at that. Just have coffee with me tomorrow and call it even." Eric flicked his eyes to see what the owners of the café were up to. "How about here at ten in the morning?"  
  
"Could we call it a date?" asked Rouge. Eric nodded and smiled a little from behind his bangs. A beautiful woman just agreed to have coffee with him. This was a good morning. Especially since the restaurant owners just told Rouge she had a job. 


	2. 

Eric fell back onto his bed and stared at the poster on his ceiling. He had met a fantastic woman. Rouge was beautiful, charming, and wasn't some fragile deer with the headlights in her eyes. After he had gotten Rouge the job at Mama Mia's Italian Café, they had gone to a movie. He could tell that Rouge wanted it slow. He could see why. It might be her first chance at love after her line of work.   
  
Key stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around his waist before shaking his dark green (almost black) hair out like a dog. He walked to the other end of the apartment in his towel until he got to his room and dragged on some black slacks. He left the room shirtless and went to ask Rouge if she wanted to come to dinner with him. Rouge wasn't in the living room where Key had last seen her but she was in the bathroom with one leg hiked up and in the sink. "What on Earth are you doing Rouge?" demanded Key.  
  
"Shaving my legs?" asked Rouge innocently.   
  
"Women." Key stated as he turned around. He hadn't adjusted to Rouge's ways yet; most of the talk about their mission had been done while the girl still worked in a brothel. He had enjoyed her once or twice before he knew she was someone he could trust, someone who could help him. And she had jumped at the chance to abandon to Apocalypse Rose. "Do you want to come to dinner with me or not Rouge?"  
  
"I'll go. But let's not stay out too late. I have a ten o'clock arrangement tomorrow morning." Said the redhead with a last stroke of the razor.   
  
"Fine. Get a dress on, I'll take you somewhere fancy." Key liked to treat Rouge right. And with the money he made from hacking, well, it was easy to keep her in style. He never bought her trinkets or clothing, the girl certainly had enough of that.   
  
Rouge brushed past Key in the hall way as she went to go pick out a dress from her rucksack. It was amazing how much she could fit into that pack. She brought out a kimono set. It wasn't an elaborate seventeen-layered one, since it was mostly for show and having it taken off, but it was a simple kimono in black with lovely cherry blossom tree growing on the right and a rain of blossoms breezing around the rest of the garment. Rouge rushed into it and put some fringy gold earrings on before twisting her hair into a knob and stabbing it with two black lacquer chopsticks.  
  
"Finally ready?" said Key amusedly. Rouge nodded eagerly and her friend opened the door for her, following her out as he shut it again.  
  
Rouge rode behind Key on the latter's motorcycle. He took her to a little place called Palace of The Ancient Samurai. It was an excellent and expensive Japanese place. "How did you know I was taking you here?" asked Key amusedly.  
  
"I heard you on the phone with someone saying that you thought I might like this resturaunt." Rouge, who was rarely coquettish by nature, didn't say what she thought of Key, which was that he was a dear.   
  
"Aren't you a clever little minx!" laughed Key as he ran his hands through his deep green hair.   
  
"I got a job! The man, Rous-sama, he got me a job at a café he likes. He also paid for my coffee at a convince store. Things are going quite well."  
  
"It sounds like it!" exclaimed Key. The waiter was just bringing the food.  
  
The next morning Rouge got up and pulled some red short-shorts and a mock-turtle neck t-shirt. She slipped some leather sandals on her feet and put a black purse on her shoulder. Key wasn't up yet, so she left with out telling him. In her purse was everything she needed, a little cash, a credit card, a lipstick, and a compact with a mirror in the lid, a phone card and a small six shot handgun (fully loaded of course). Rouge went out and got on her motorcycle to head for the café where she would have a drink with Eric and start work.   
  
She was a little early when she reached the Café Venice, so Rouge went into the tiny employee's restroom and dusted a little blush on her face; it was the kind with a smattering of shimmer dust. Not to bold, but it brought attention to her face, which was soft yet not round. It had a sharpness at the corners that was nicely smoothed over by her cheekbones and flesh. Rouge had already brushed mascara into her eyelashes, her nail polish didn't need touch up, or her lipstick. She was perfect, the epitome of voluptuousness. That was why she had been such a favorite at the Apocalypse Rose. Her hips were full and round, as was her bust. The rest of her was slim and stark pale in contrast to her flaming red hair.  
  
As Rouge emerged from the restroom she spied Eric waiting with a daisy in his hand. He had, as Rouge guessed was usual, not really put so much effort into dressing himself. The boy wore some baggy khaki cargo shorts that came to his knees and a white undershirt, with a loose cotton shirt open in the front over it. His black hair hung around his crown and longish down his neck.   
  
"Hey Eric." Rouge emerged from the shadows smiling a little as she brushed a strand of her hair from her face.  
  
"Rouge!" Eric snapped his head around as he heard Rouge's voice. He didn't want to seem as eager he really was. Eager to see Rouge again. He had told himself numerous times last night and this morning that is was just another dash of a relationship. Fool around a few times and then get or give the same line, "I want you, I need you. But there ain't no way I'm ever gonna love you. Now don't be sad, two out of three ain't bad." But maybe Rouge would be different. That was what frightened Eric. He wasn't sure if he wanted to get past the fooling around part.  
  
"You seem a little spacey. You need a little seltzer. Sit down baby." Rouge was a little surprised the 'baby' had slipped out. She didn't want Eric to think she wanted to go too fast. She needed to lock him into the relationship; she had to keep Eric in her hold.   
  
Eric drew a chair out for Rouge after she brought him a bottle of sparkling water on a tray. "So what do you want to talk about on this date?" he asked.  
  
"You make it sound so formal, like a conference! Come on, relax…." Rouge purred out the relax and walked her elbows forward on the table before propping up her hands with the fingers interlaced and resting her chin on them.  
  
Eric felt Rouge's eyes burning into his own. His heart was going a bit fast. He sipped the seltzer. "I'm not used to dates like this. I do a rave or two and head back to my place with her…"  
  
"Sounds nice."  
  
"I like it. Do you want to make it tomorrow? I- I mean…go to a rave and go back to my place? I'll pick you up after work…"  
  
"I like that. What do you want me to wear? Anything…just pick something nice. I have an outfit for every man's taste…"  
  
Eric wanted to ask for leather pants and a tight leather bikini top, but he figured that wouldn't earn golden bonus points. "Where whatever you want, something red. It's your favorite color isn't it?"  
  
"You pick things up quick. I'll wear my Chinese fighting dress and gold bangles. It's quite a tight fit since I had Delilah re-stitch the side seam…" Rouge felt clever in mentioning the tightness of the dress in the torso area. Of course, Delilah had never picked up a needle in her life; she was too busy trying to live up to her pseudonym by studying the karma sutra when not on a job. But the dress did flatter Rouge's better attributes.   
  
"Can you wear it to the café all right?" Eric wasn't dumb. He knew she was trying to sauce him up.  
  
"Perfectly okay. I might get some new customers with it. Madam Italy will like that. But don't worry. I like you so far."  
  
"I like you so far." Said Eric bravely. God Rouge was hot…no…she was damn sexy. And the way she looked at him…oh Eric knew that was once a hooker and she most likely looked that way at anyone, but it made him feel feverish and his heart raced.  
  
"I have to get to work. Don't want to be late my first day. ^_-" said Rouge.  
  
"All right. I'll pick you up after work tomorrow." Eric was glad the date was short and over, he thought he was going to go crazy for Rogue. She was such a tease.  
  
Rouge strutted off, her hips swaying back and forth. Eric stared at her ass for a minute before getting up and going back to his apartment. Man, she had a nice rear. Rouge sure was a sweet slice of lemon. Who would have the luck to go on a date with some one like Rouge? One in a million?   
  
But on the other hand, Eric had to be careful not to let Rouge interfere with his real work. Eric, despite the fact he appeared to be like most punk seventeen-year-old males, was dealing drugs. And in such a dangerous business, and for such a desperate cause, Eric could let nothing, not even Rogue, stand in the way of his plans. He sold them at raves; often the girl he was with didn't know or was too drunk or whacked to notice. Eric wasn't proud, or too happy, with his trade. But it was the only way poor, wrong-tracked Eric knew how to make a lot of money fast. And it had already been two years. There were probably quite a few more to go. Before he could seek revenge. 


	3. 

"Man that rave was great!" sighed Rouge happily. They had gone to the party at one of the old warehouses down on the docks. It was going to be demolished soon so that a new climate controlled facility could be erected, but the ravers had gotten a last gig in it. Eric had picked Rouge up at Key's place (she had called him and given directions). They rode over to the docks on Eric's motorbike and had danced till one thirty in the morning. During the course of events that evening Rouge had gotten a tad tipsy. Maybe a tad was understating it.   
  
Eric unlocked the door to his tenement and showed Rouge in. "Sorry it's trashed Rouge." He muttered as he kicked some pizza boxes out of the way and turned off the muted stereo.   
  
"I don't mind. I have to clean messes like this for Key." Rouge had the vague idea that she'd rather be in bed with Key right then, but then she figured it had to be all that beer.   
  
"You live with him still?"  
  
"I only stopped being a prostitute two weeks ago. That's not a lot of time to run away, stay low for a few days, clean a gargantuan mess, get a job, meet the man of your dreams and still rent a place!" said Rouge giggled.  
  
"Just two weeks?"  
  
"Uhuh." Rouge nodded and she kicked off her cherry red pumps with stiletto heels.   
  
"So you haven't forgotten the moves have you?" Eric straightened up from taking off his shirt. "And who would be this mysterious 'man of your dreams' be?" Eric reached for a fresh shirt.  
  
Rouge walked towards Eric. "Well, I don't know. If you see him, tell him not to put another shirt on."   
  
Eric turned his head very slowly as he heard these words and felt Rouge's soft, gentle hand alight on his shoulder. He looked curiously at Rouge before tucking his thumb under his index finger and curling the rest so his hand had a mouth. He moved his knuckle up and down so it looked like his hand was talking. "Have you seen Rouge's hunk?"  
  
"Who says he's hot?!" interrupted Rouge mischeviously.  
  
" 'I think I've seen him somewhere.' Oooo tell me quick! 'Well I think if he shouldn't put his shirt on it's you!' Wow! Smart hand!" Eric looked up from his hand to Rouge and saw she had collapsed on the couch in a fit of giggling.  
  
"Is my hand smart?" asked Eric.  
  
"Very." Rouge blurted as she tried not to laugh. Eric gripped her wrist and pulled her up from the couch. He found her lighter than he had expected and the girl flew close to him. Eric locked his arm around her thin, though not overly so, waist and the other hand went to her hair. Rouge was quite surprised and she had a very weak idea that she wasn't so hot on Eric touching her hair, but she decided that was just the beer. What she knew for sure was that she wanted Eric very much. It was as if those few seconds of staring at each other were in slow motion and suddenly it went into fast forward. Rouge rose on tiptoe and kissed Eric. It was no ordinary first kiss. It was like a first kiss in the movies, a very passionate first kiss. Rouge felt her mind suddenly clear and she realized that she didn't mind it, this whole kissing the one who bore the mark of death business.   
  
Eric's mind was actually fogging over, over loaded from the fact that Rouge, Repeat: Rouge, was kissing him. A beautiful woman, and it didn't hurt that she certainly was talented, being an ex-prostitute and all. His hand moved through her hair and the other rose to her jaw. They parted and took air, Rouge was out of breath and Eric was a little dumfounded. He licked his lips and tasted the faint waxy flavor of Rouge's lipstick. There was a hint of a raspberry flavor, some lip gloss from earlier perhaps? Eric gently pressed Rouge against the wall the two had stumbled over to and stared at her. Her cheeks were blushed, her eyes were dark. "I get just one kiss?" whispered Rouge hoarsely.   
  
Eric took a deep breath and kissed Rouge again, this time surpassing the passion and deepness of even that first kiss. Her hands were at the nape of his neck holding his head closer. He was pressing her to the wall; she was pressing herself to him. When they parted to breath again Rouge stepped forward, her movements were concentrated and powerful like a lioness. "Hold me." She muttered as she felt Eric's hands slip to her back. Suddenly Eric tripped and fell backwards onto the sofa.   
  
He grinned mischievously and flicked his index finger at the girl, beckoning her to come. Rouge paused a moment. Did she really, really, want this? Was this right? She couldn't jeopardize things. Because of Key. But her body was faster than her mind just then so she took a step forward and then slid onto the couch so that she sat on Eric's ankles. His hands were coming up for her, she was leaning into them, and he was pulling her to him. Rouge adjusted her legs so she wasn't twisted oddly and then she felt herself lying on Eric. Her held her so close it almost hurt but she wasn't objecting, she wanted to be closer. They kissed and continued on from there, on the couch, at two in the morning.  
  
It was so right, her mind was agreeing whole-heartedly wit her body now. Key, she had met him like this. Well, they had been wearing a little less then, hell she had been in lingerie. Why should she trust Key? Unless…Unless Key had wanted her for her talents, so she could use them on Eric. But Rouge had known that. But she didn't just want to use her talents, for the first time in her life Rouge actually wanted this. She had 'wanted' it for the money, but now she wanted it for the sheer sake of Eric, her, wanting it.  
  
It was four in the morning. Rouge was lying on Eric's bare chest. She was still wearing her red Chinese fighting dress, they hadn't gone too far. "Eric?" Rouge mumbled sleepily.  
  
"Yes Rouge?" he mumbled equally sleepily.  
  
"Do you have a sword?"  
  
"Not now Rogue…I'm too sleepy…do you never tire out? Most likely don't…but I do…"  
  
"Nooo…I mean a sword-sword."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"I dunno…"  
  
"Well, no…" But Rouge had fallen asleep by the time Eric said this.   
  
The next morning Eric was awakend by a great shrieking of, "SHIIIIIIIIIT! OH SHIT! SHIT SHIT SHIT SHITY SHIT SHIT SHIT!!!!!!!!! OooOoooo!" he flopped his arm around for Rouge and realized in his sleepy way that Rouge was the one cussing out the world.  
  
"Whats wrong baby?"  
  
"I'M LAAAAAAAAAATE FOR WORK!" she screamed, zooming by in a black denim mini-skirt and a pink tank top.  
  
"I like your outfit." Eric called out as Rouge rushed out the front door, barely saving herself from tripping over one of her own black platform shoes.   
  
Suddenly Rouge dashed back into the apartment. "Have I earned a key to this place yet?"  
  
"You mean a girl actually wants more than one night on my couch?"  
  
"I suppose. Besides, who else is going to clean this sty?"  
  
"The spare key is inside the pants on top of the computer." Muttered Eric. Rouge had to have a hangover after all she had been drinking last night. She sure didn't look like it though. Man she was amazing. Rouge zoomed by again with the key dangling from a silver chain around her neck.   
  
"Toodles baby!" she called as she raced down the hall.  
  
'Toodles?' thought Eric. Okay, so maybe Rouge had a cute side...  
  
*#$%^!*#$%^!  
Hiya, Ane here! How are you people likeing my new story? Hehe. I like it a lot, it's fun to write. I've been wanting to do this story for a a while now, version 1.0 was up a few days before this version, but it got so few reviews I figured something was wrong so I re-wrote it. I really worry when I don't get alot of reviews, because I've been spoiled with my actual fanfics, (as opposed to the originals) I get waaaay too many review on those and hardly any on my real favorites. It's depressing when the stuff that comes easily and turns out well gets hardly any response and the fanfics that are hard to turn out get so many. PLEASE READ AND REVIEW THIS STORY! I am really hopeing that this will get a little more feedback now Eric and Rouge have gotten a little bit closer. Even flames would be nicer than nothing. snif snif. Would it help if I did a song and dance number at the begining of each chapter? Sorry I'm so pushy... I hate haveing to ask for reviews... any way I'd better go work out the next chapter, and the song and dance routine... 


	4. 

Eric sat at the brown fold-up card table that sat next to the window, an island in a sea of newspaper and pizza boxes. As he munched on his tofu and stared at a box of Shabon soap flakes, Eric mused over what Rouge had said while they snuggled on the sofa last night, half asleep.  
  
"Eric?"  
  
"Yes Rouge?"  
  
"Do you have a sword?"  
  
"Not now Rogue…I'm too sleepy…do you never tire out? Most likely don't…but I do…"  
  
"Nooo…I mean a sword-sword."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"I dunno…"  
  
"Well, no…"   
  
Why had she asked him about the sword? Did she know…the reason? Or was she just being her talkative self, confused by sleep?  
  
"Eric! Come on. Don't shit around, we have a fucking job to do here!"  
  
"No! You promised I could go to Pedro's! It's his birthday…"  
  
"And I don't fucking care! You get your ass over here and get on the goddamn bike."  
  
"Why do I have to come?"  
  
"Because I'm finally selling that no good sword no one would buy. And besides, you'd get into my liquor if I'm not around."  
  
"I hate your damn liquor!"   
  
"Get on the bike kid, now!"  
  
Eric shut his eyes. He had to do that a lot. No matter how busy he kept himself there was always time to remember. He had to go. Pedro had some cocaine for him. He had to sell it off quicky, the cops might have gotten a little suspicious. Not enough to be a bad thing, but enough to worry Eric. If he thought enough about Rouge maybe the memories would fade.  
  
As Eric mounted his motorcycle the memories returned and Rouge's beautiful face faded from his mind. "I have the sword. Right here. Now give me the cash, old man!"  
  
"Let me hold it."  
  
"No."  
  
"Can I look at it? How do I know it's the real thing?"  
  
Eric's father, a man with ruddy face flushed with liquor and bright red hair drew the sword from the scabbard lazily. "Happy now?"  
  
"It…it is! It is the Sword of Damocles!" the customer quickly drew a wad of cash from his pocket. "Here, five thousand dollars. Now give me the sword!"  
  
Eric's father handed over the sword and bent to pick up the scabbard. With a deft stroke the customer brought the sword cleanly down on the merchant's neck and cut straight through the bone and meat, sending waves of blood spurting up and pooling on the floor.   
  
"NO!" cried Eric, thrusting his hand out towards his father as he collapsed the rest of the way to the floor. Seeing his father's head on the floor made him realized there was no salvation for the man. His arm still extended he spun around and grabbed a dagger with rubies on the hilt. The old man stood unmoving, his lips curled into a snarl, a mocking grin. His eyes laughed at the young boy before him though he made no sound. Eric stood ready for attack, the knife held tightly in his trembling hands. After a few seconds he sprung at the old man and gouged him with the knife. Though the wound was deep and the fine fabric of the man's suit was torn badly the blood only came for a moment. The wound re-sealed itself. Eric gasped and fell backwards, fainted from terror.  
  
Eric was ridding down the street. He had been so wrapped up in the images of his father's death that he hadn't been watching the road, he'd blacked out. As he de-spaced he realized a guardrail was looming up ahead of him. Five seconds later there was a horrible crunching of metal and then Eric was amidst a heap of hot, twisted metal that was in turn burning and mangling him.  
  
"Ohmagod. What the hell happened? Oh god oh god… no…motorcycle? Oh god…" Rouge pressed her back to the wall and clutched the round knobby end of the phone with both hands, which were shaking badly. "I'll be right over."  



	5. 

A nurse was walking down the hall of the hospital holding a clipboard in one hand and swinging a pen on a lanyard with the other. Suddenly a blur of red came barreling at him. The surprised man focused his eyes and found that a rather attractive woman was gripping his shirt collar in both hands. Then she growled at him. "Where's ERIC?" She tightened her grip on the nurse's shirt and shook him a bit.  
  
"Um…What is the last name of this Eric?" asked the nurse nervously.  
  
"ROUS! Now where the hell is he?!" shrieked the girl.  
  
"Who might you be?" continued the nurse.  
  
"I'M RO-" she stopped short. She had almost blurted out the fact that her name was Rouge. What had she told the people at the restaurant? Wait…she hadn't told them. The lady just always called her Petunia. What could she tell this man? "MY NAME IS POCAHONTAS! NOW LEMME IN TO SEE ROUS-KUN!"  
  
The nurse raised a skeptical eye but led her to Eric's hospital room. It was empty but his charts were tacked to the wall. Another nurse was just walking out. "Excuse me," said the male nurse Rouge had bumped into, "But where is Eric Rous?"  
  
"Well, Tosaka, he's off in the ER. They said to go ahead and get a room ready for him since he will have to stay a few days. He's in pretty bad shape according to Doctor Mizuno. A bruised rib, some minor internal injuries, lacerations, a few bad cuts and several medium burns. I think he might have a head injury too." Replied the second nurse. Rouge noticed that her nametag read Lizzy. Lizzy brushed past Tosaka and Rouge and went off down the hall.   
  
"I'm very sorry you couldn't see your friend. But it can't be too much longer, they brought him in-"  
  
"And hour ago, I know…Tosaka-sama." Rouge read the nametag carefully.   
  
"You may sit in the waiting room, I'll make sure someone informs you when the patient comes to his room."   
  
"Miss Lizzy said he would have to stay a few days. Could you arrange…for a cot to be put in this room? So I could spend the night too?"  
  
"I'll see." Said Tosaka shortly.  
  
Rouge went out into the waiting room and waited. She noted that the clock on the wall said 2:00. She sat in the little chair and sat. There was little else to do, none of the magazines interested Rouge at a time like this. A time like this. That phrase sounded so odd to Rouge as is floated around in her mind. Why? Then it suddenly dawned on her, she was worried about Eric. Of course, she told herself. Eric was the key to the whole plan. But what was the plan? Key hadn't told her much. Why? Why would he not tell her everything if she was such a vital part of whatever he had figured out? Rouge thought about last night. They hadn't done much, just a little kissing and hutchie-cootchie on the couch. And man had she been drunk! Good thing that aspirin had been in Eric's medicine cabinet, otherwise she would be quite miserable right now.   
  
Rouge decided quite suddenly that once Eric was out of the hospital she would take some time off work and go to the seaside with him. It would be nice and help him get better. It would also help cement their relationship. With all the thoughts about the mission, Rouge decided she should call Key. She pulled out her cell phone and hit the speed dial button.   
  
"Hello? Key?" she asked when she heard the other end pick up.  
  
"Yes? Is that my Rouge?"  
  
"Yup!"   
  
"Where the hell were you last night?"  
  
"I went to the rave with Eric like we had planned and went back to his place. There was some couch."  
  
"But you didn't check in with me?"  
  
"I'm sorry…come on honey, you know I am." coaxed Rouge. The honey, and the baby, why? She said them as easily as she said them to Eric. Hadn't she been surprised a few days ago when she said such things to him? She was just getting used to Eric that was all. She was lucky to have such a good lover as Key, lending her out to Eric for the sake of the mission. Lending her out…  
  
"I'm sorry I over reacted. How did it go?"  
  
"Not too far. Just enough. I asked him about the sword."  
  
"ROUGE!"  
  
"I was careful. It seemed like I was sleep talking, you know, half awake. He doesn't have it with him."  
  
"Where is it?"  
  
"Who knows? Look, it's not a big deal. I'm at the hospital right now, Eric had a bad accident. Once he gets checked out I'm going to go to the sea with him and work on bonding a little more. Find out his secrets…"  
  
"Oh goody." Key said sarcastically. He hated mushy crap like that.   
  
"I have to go, but I'll check in later. I'm taking work off tomorrow. I'll come back then okay? It can be just us. And a little more than what Eric and I got to."  
  
"Lovely. I'll be waiting."  
  
"Uhuh, me too. Sayo!"  
  
Rouge hastily pressed the off button on the phone and dropped it into her purse. Key. She didn't want anymore of this. No more. Why did it hurt so much when she loved him?  
  
"Excuse me miss…excuse me…" said a pretty lady; it was Lizzy from earlier that day. She was gently shaking Rouge awake. The later had fallen asleep in the chair, curled up in a little ball and fast asleep. She started awake immediately and looked up at Lizzy eagerly.   
  
"Can I see Eric?" she said desperately. The nurse nodded and showed Rouge back to Eric's room. It was about 8:00 PM. The nurse smiled and shut the door as she left. "Eric! The hospital called and said you had an accident. Are you alright?"  
  
"About as alright as one can be after crashing into a guard rail and having a Kawasaki motorcycle land on you." Eric said sleepily. His head was bandaged, as was a lot of the rest of him.   
  
"Oh Eric! How did you manage that?"  
  
"I-I just spaced I guess." Eric didn't want to tell Rouge anything about the memories.   
  
"You need to be more careful. I don't want anything happening to my Eric again." Rouge soothed. She was bent over the bed and was smoothing his hair away from the bandages. "I'm spending the night here. At least I think I am. I asked the nurse to bring a cot in for me."  
  
"That's great Rouge. It's lonely in here. And I certainly don't mind having you around."  
  
"I don't mind being around." Said Rouge. "I'm going to go out for a while and get a bite to eat. I've been sitting in the waiting room all day. I just wanted to see if you were okay. But don't worry, I'll come back real soon baby." Rouge bent and kissed Eric on the cheek.   
  
"Come back soon?" pleaded Eric. Rouge turned and nodded smiling before leaving to get her food.  



	6. 

"Come back soon?" pleaded Eric. Rouge turned and nodded smiling before leaving to get her food.  
  
  
"I'm so glad your better now Eric!" exclaimed Rouge as she stared out the window of the bullet train.  
  
"I'm not all better yet, remember, I spent two weeks in the hospital and I'm still fragile. No more of the after-the-rave business for a while I'm afraid."  
  
"They say anticipation is half the fun." Came the dreamy reply.   
  
  
"Where are we going again?" asked Eric.  
  
"Just a little seaside village. They have a honeymoon hotel, a nice family run place, not Western. There are some shops, and the beach. I brought my swim suit."  
  
Images of Rouge in a swimsuit danced through Eric's head. The thought made him a little giddy. "Oh, I didn't. I figured I wouldn't be able to do much swimming with my rib."  
  
"Actually you do have a suit, I packed it for you while you were buying cigarettes." Rouge grinned and let her head fall on Eric's shoulder. "I'm happy, love."  
  
"Me too."  
  
The two rode the train for about forty-five more minutes and arrived at their destination. In the hotel Rouge busily ran about arranging suitcases and de-wrinkling a nice looking dress, it was pale pink-cream batik and done in a Greek pleated style gathered at the chest with a little brooch. Eric leaned against the door to the balcony with one foot resting on the edge behind him. He uncrossed his arms to take a drag on his cigarette. His eyes followed Rouge. She was wearing black sweat pants with sandals and a white tank top with flames screen-printed on it. Eric sighed and Rough turned her head with a, "What's wrong baby?"   
  
"I'm not kissing you right now, that's what's wrong." Eric reached forward with his good arm and Rouge leaned forward into his embrace. He held her tightly and gazed out at the sunset.   
  
"This is nice, but you still aren't kissing me." Rouge moved her lover's face to look at her own and then stood on tiptoe to kiss him.   
  
"Come on, over here." Eric jerked his thumb in the general direction of the bed.   
  
"Your rib…" mumbled Rouge as she tried to kiss Eric's ear.  
  
"I won't do anything that hurts." He insisted, pulled Rouge around and sitting her on the bed. His hand went to the back of her neck and the other on her knee. She slowly leaned back and he slowly leaned over her, supporting himself on his good arm. They kissed again and then once more before their lips wandered over each other's faces and Eric's left hand moved to Rouge's stomach…  
  
Rouge and Eric were walking along the beach, Rouge eating mint chocolate chip ice cream and Eric with hamburger juice on his chin. "It certainly is peaceful isn't it?" asked Eric. "I'm glad we decided to come to the beach."  
  
"Me too Eric." Rouge really did feel happy. Eric wasn't the terrible person that Key had made her believe the one with the mark of death would be. But it was going terribly slowly, so far there had been no trace of the sword she was supposed to find and bring Key.   
  
Rouge swallowed the last bite of her cone and ran into the surf; the sea breeze flipped her hair and the ties on her red bikini around. Eric laughed as Rouge fell down from a sudden undertow and then slipped and slid on some seaweed trying to get up. Rouge returned in a fit of giggles, "The sea is out to get me Eric!" she laughed.  
  
Suddenly a twenty-year-old kid jumped into the air to catch a Frisbee and fell onto of Eric. "Oh golly sir, are you alright?" he asked worriedly.   
  
"Yhea I'm-"   
  
Rouge broke in and started yelling at the boy about Eric's delicate condition, the horrible accident, and how all they wanted was a pleasent vacation without mishap.  
  
"Golly lady I'm really sorry. I guess I shouldn't play so rough." Said the kid, who looked more defensive than sheepish. Eric didn't look as good as he had tried to say he was. He mumbled something about his rib. "Look, I'll take you to the hospital. I'm very sorry."   
  
In the backseat of the kid's car Eric whispered in Rouge's ear, "I don't like this kid."  
  
"Neither do I." Rouge hissed back.  
  
"No, not because he fell on me, although my rib is killing me, but there is something about him. Something I don't like. I don't trust him."  
  
"Okay. Okay baby. I'll look out for him." Whispered Rouge and she smoothed Eric's hair.   
  
"We're at the hospital." Called the boy to his passengers. He and Rouge helped Eric into the hospital. A few weird looking men raised eyebrow at Rouge, who hadn't had time to pull anything on over her bikini.   
  
The nurse asked who was checking Eric in and the boy wrote down, "Richard Asachi." Eric raised an eyebrow and continued thinking about it. As he lay down on the hospital bed, it hit him. Asachi. Where had he seen that name? Something was pulling at his mind. He felt like there was a coat in his hands, though it was really just the rough sheet. A check fluttered onto the floor, the messy scrawl at the signature line barely legible. But it had read Asagki. But as Eric now realized…it had read Asachi. The young eyes of a boy couldn't read correctly, not with the rage of being unable to go to the birthday.  
  
Richard came in, dragging Rouge behind him. "LET ME AT THAT BIKER!" screamed Rouge.  
  
"Some punk made a pass at her. One of the nurses put a scrub gown on her to stop all the attention." Said Richard calmly. Eric's eyes were like steel. Richard looked very uncomfortable with the tension that was in the room, so he left to go stand in the doorway in hopes of getting a doctor in to see Eric. Rouge sat on the bed with her knees to her chest and her legs crossing Eric's.   
  
"Honey, do you want to go shopping later after you get checked out?" she asked coyly.  
  
"Yhea, they had some nice swords at that antique weaponry shop. I saw some nice Spanish pieces."  
  
"Do you like swords? You seem to have an eye for them." Asked Rouge sweetly, cuddling up to Eric.   
  
"Yhea, I like swords a lot. My father was a sword dealer when he wasn't drunk. I learned a lot about them."  
  
"Wow. I wish I could say my parents had jobs as cool as that. My daddy, I never knew him. And my mother, she was a lawyer."  
  
"How did you- how come you didn't…?"  
  
"Pick a better profession? Long story…I'll tell you later after a few beers."  
  
"All right Rouge."  
  
One of the nurses walked in and told Eric a doctor would come to see him in about 45 minuets, but it would be necessary to stay for one night. Richard offered to take Rouge to her hotel room so she could change into something more comfortable than scrubs over a bikini. She accepted and told Eric she'd be back in a little while.   
  
The car ride over was pleasant; Richard stopped at a little drive through sushi place and got some lunch for the two of them. There was a long silence while they ate, but suddenly Richard spoke up. "I heard you and Eric talking about swords. Are you interested in them too?"  
  
"I don't know very much about them actually. Eric is the one who knows the most between the two of us, I guess."  
  
"I have a fondness for swords as well. I have an extensive collection at home and I'd offer to show you and your boyfriend, however I only have a few of them with me during my travels."  
  
Rouge paused. She was supposed to get the sword, not devote herself to Eric. She had to play the game and stop the end of the world. Not fall in love. That was just for fairy tales. "He isn't my boyfriend." She said slowly. "We've been really close since childhood. We're almost like- brother and sister."  
  
Richard looked intrigued. "Well would you like to see some of my swords after you get changed?"  
  
"I would like to very much, I've always been intrigued by swords, but I've never had time to get into the hobby. "  
  
"Does your work take up a lot of your time? What do you do?"   
  
"I- I work in a café as a waitress." It wasn't a lie. It wasn't entirely the truth either.   
  
They got to the hotel and Rouge went to her room. Richard stayed down in the car. Rouge went to her suitcase and got out some black Capri-length jogging pants. She pulled a sheer white top over her swimsuit and tied a red shirt around her waist incase she got cold. She went back down to the car and found Richard had kept the engine running. "In a hurry?" she asked.  
  
"I must admit I am excited to show a pretty lady my collection." Said Richard energetically.  
  
"You are too kind." Said Rouge. She felt sick, she was betraying Eric. Betraying Key. But then again she was never meant to become so close to either that this could be thought of as betrayal. 


	7. 

Richard led Rouge into his suit. It was obvious from his traveling accommodations he was rather well off. "Would you like a drink from the mini bar?" he asked. Rouge hesitated. Mini bars racked up quite the bill. "It's all right, I don't mind. Go ahead, anything you want." Said Richard easily, pulling out a small bottle of vodka.  
  
"I'll take the other vodka." Rouge said shyly.  
  
"Good choice. I lived in Russia for a few years you know, with my father."   
  
"Who is your father?" asked Rouge, moving to sit on the couch rather than lean against it.  
  
"No one especially special. He's a scientist of sorts."  
  
"Oh." There was an uneasy silence. "Do you want to finish my vodka?" Rouge held up a 3-4ths full bottle. "It's a bit stronger than what I'm used to." Richard took the little bottle and drank deeply from it. Rouge knew about men and liquor, it usually got them talking, though she had a sinking feeling it would take a little loving to get what she wanted from Richard. He sat down next to his guest and put his arm behind her shoulders on the couch. He indicated to the view out the window with his pinky finger before sipping his vodka again.   
  
"Quite the site huh? The sea I mean. I sometimes wonder what it would be like if it were frozen. Or if it suddenly caught on fire."  
  
"Do you like Robert Frost?" asked Rouge suddenly.  
  
" 'Some say the world will end in fire, some say in ice. From what I've tasted of desire, I hold with those who favor fire. But if I had to perish twice, I think I know enough of hate to say that for destruction ice."  
  
"Very good. But what do you think?"  
  
"I think we'll end in fire. It's the scientific answer."  
  
"And you prefer the scientific ideas because of your father?" Rouge turned and snuggled up to Richard, her hand falling lightly on his chest.  
  
"Yes."  
  
"And was he a big- sword- collector too?"  
  
"He started me off on my own collection. His is far more extensive. However, he did give me one signature piece. It is quite beautiful."  
  
"Can I see?" purred Rouge.  
  
Richard got up and gently picked up a beautiful red scabbard with a wonderfully crafted pommel sticking up. He exposed a few inches of the sword and let Rouge gently rub the scabbard and hilt. "It's beautiful!" she exclaimed.   
  
"This sword is called the Ketsuiki Tenshi." Said Richard with a mischievous grin on his face.  
  
"Blood Angel? Not as beautiful but some names I've seen swords called."  
  
"I take the opposite point of view. Some swords have names that don't reflect their use. No matter what the purpose for owning a sword, it is always a tool for killing. I think that this sword is both practical in name and at what it was intended for."  
  
"I think a man who is so assertive in his opinions is charming." Rouge twirled a strand of hair on her finger and looked sweetly at Richard as he set the sword back on the wall.  
  
"And I think you are very beautiful. Wine?" Richard opened the mini bar and took a tiny bottle of wine out. Rouge nodded and sipped it charmingly after it was handed to her. She settled back into the couch and kicked off her shoes and laid her legs on Richard's lap. "I'm sleepy." She said slowly.   
  
"To bad, I had plans this evening." Said Richard, smirking at Rouge.  
  
"Plans? So should I go?"  
  
"Actually my plans involved you, and the last of that vodka."  
  
Eric sat in his bed waiting for the doctor to return with the x-rays. Rouge should have come back by now. She never took this long to get back, he didn't want to feel like a braggart but she was crazy about him. She had never taken more time than was needed before she could return to him. The nurse came in followed by a doctor who declared Eric fine to leave the hospital. It had only taken an hour and a half.   
  
Eric headed back to the hotel on a bus and got off at the stop closest. He walked a block to the hotel with a little pain but managed to get up to the room. He returned to see all of Rouge's stuff gone and a note taped to the bathroom mirror reading, "It's over."  
  
Eric felt weak in the knees and sat on the one bed. Hadn't it been that afternoon that they had been here, on that bed? Together? Hadn't it been that day that she had said she loved him as they walked on the beach? And now it was over. It was all over. Eric had been able to adjust to life with Rouge, but could he go back? It seemed so doubtful. Eric curled painfully up on the bed and stayed dazed.   
  



	8. 

Rouge had taken the bus to the train station and put a train ticket fair on Key's credit card. The train left in about five minutes. She sat on the bench and snapped open her purse. Inside were the usual contents of a woman's purse, and also a small handgun, Richard Assachi's address and cell phone number in Tokyo. She was headed back home, to seduce Richard. Leaving Eric behind for what could be forever, and now she knew for sure that she hated Key with all her heart.   
  
There were still a few minutes left so Rouge got up an bought a soda. She paid the man with the change in her pocket and got on the train that had just pulled up. It wouldn't take more than an hour to get back to Tokyo and her first stop would be Key's apartment to pick up the last of her stuff. He had lied, he had told her that she was to get the sword and it would be one last job. Why was it turning into many? And why had she fallen in love with Eric? Of all the stupid idiotic things to do! After she got her stuff from Key she would go find Richard and do to him what she'd done to Eric. Except for the falling in love part.   
  
Rouge hadn't fallen asleep on the train, as she had hoped. It was pretty late by the time she had pulled into Tokyo and gotten a taxi to Key's place. Key opened the door and smiled at Rouge. "Your back. So soon? You left just three days ago."  
  
"I'm here to get my stuff." Said Rouge shortly.  
  
"Are you moving in with Eric?"  
  
"No."  
  
"What's wrong?"  
  
"I'll tell you what's wrong. You lied. You said one last job and it's turned into one more."  
  
"Come in an give me a report." Key opened the door and walked shirtless back to the couch. Rouge stalked in and slammed the door.   
  
"I met a man named Richard Assachi who has a large collection of swords. He has a sword that matches the description of the Sword of Damocles. I got him to talk about it over the pillows and empty vodka bottles. I left Eric for him. Why? I don't know. I don't know why I didn't just stay with Eric, why I stay loyal to the man I hate. I can't rule my own life. I'm leaving you to learn."  
  
"You can't leave me Rouge. I need you."  
  
"Find another ten cent whore to do your dirt work. I'm sick of living lies."  
  
"You can't leave me Rouge. I'll kill you."  
  
"No Key. You need me."  
  
"It doesn't matter, the world will end without you. Do you want to be responsible for the death of 5 billion people Rouge? I didn't think so." p  
  
"I'll work for you. I will use my body for you. But it will not be me." Said Rouge bitterly.  
  
"You should be honored Rogue. Considering your life you are playing an enormous role in the destines of all the Earth's people. A lawyer's daughter, ignored and alone. Except for your sister of course, but did she not also fall to seed? An assassin if I remember. And you became a prostitute at age fifteen. But you are saving the world. And is that not noble?"  
  
"Fuck off. I'm going to sleep. Don't touch me." Rouge dropped her bag and collapsed onto her pallet and slept.  
  
When she awoke Key was gone. Rouge got up and took her motorcycle over to Richard's penthouse. She rang the bell and was let in by Richard. "Hello Rouge. I didn't expect to see you again so soon."  
  
"I couldn't stay away from my Richard for too long." said Rogue smoothly.  
  
"Come in, I was hoping there was a little more to our last meeting than the vodka."  
  
"Do you believe in love at first sight?" asked Rouge, curling up in a lounge chair.  
  
"No. But I do believe in love growing after a short time."  
  
"I believe in love at first sight. And I think I love you."  
  
"You women throw words around too much. You say you love a sweater, or that dog, or that house. How are we men supposed to know when you really mean you love us?"  
  
"You don't see women hugging houses or sweaters do you?" Rouge went up behind Richard and gave him a hug.  
  
"You sure are something… good Lord! I don't even know your name and you're hugging me."  
  
"I'm… well you guess."  
  
"Anne? Shelly. No? Margretta? Kiki? Rei? Rachelle?"  
  
Rouge liked the last one and nodded. "Rachelle. I'm Rachelle Miu."  
  
"Pretty." Rouge giggled and kissed Richard's shoulder.  



	9. 

ONE MONTH LATER  
  
Richard stood at the counter in his apartment kitchen stirring some cream into coffee. Through the door way down the hall it could be seen that Rouge was lying comfortably asleep in the bed. The phone rang and Richard answered it. "Hello? Oh, Key. Yes I know you haven't heard from Rouge in a while. Thank you for delivering her to me. She's doing wonderfully, very obedient girl."  
  
"What do you mean by that?" hissed Key. He had a bad feeling about Rouge. He hadn't heard from her in a month and if something had gone wrong he had to be able to help her. The balances of fate were delicately strung on a fine wire just now.   
  
"Oh, nothing. It's just that she's mine now. To have and to hold, to command and dishonor, to use any way I please for the purposes of my father and I."  
  
"You dirty bastard! What have you done with Rouge?!" Key yelled, slamming his fist into the refrigerator, breaking a few bones in his hand. But Richard had hung up on him, and was calmly stirring some pink powder into the coffee.  
  
"Rachelle baby, wake up. I brought you some coffee." Richard gently helped Rouge sit up and handed her the cup.  
  
"Oh thank you honey but I really don't feel like it this morning…I had a bit to much to drink last night, I think a train ran me down…can I just go back to sleep?"  
  
"Not this morning angel, we have important plans."  
  
"Please Richard, not the coffee. Not this morning."  
  
Richard grabbed Rouge around the throat with his big hands and shook her. "You will do as I say! Remember that Rachelle. If I tell you to go buy sushi you will. And don't think that I don't monitor your phone calls! I know you're fighting me, and I know that your friend Eric has been coming to the lobby. Now drink the goddamn coffee and enjoy it!"  
  
Rouge took the mug in both hands and drank it in a few gulps as big tears rolled down her face. Richard had been so nice before, but now he was drugging her, she knew it. Slowly brainwashing her. She was forgetting things too, like Key's phone number. The sound of Eric's voice. These things were slipping away as new ideas were being forced into her mind. The drugs in the coffee were taking effect now. It took less and less time to work as the drug built up in her body. She felt a little fuzzy and then cleared.   
  
Rouge got up and pulled off her pajamas so she could dress in jeans and a white shirt. Her neck was covered in a hand shaped bruise, visible in the mirror. "What happened Richard?" Rouge asked, arching her neck to show the bruise. "Were you too rough last night?"  
  
"Yhea, sorry baby. Go powder it, and come on out. We're going to see your father-in-law. "  
  
Rouge went back into the bedroom and rubbed concealing cream and powder on her neck and face. Richard's father was the man that had the machine that would make her dreams come true. If only she could remember her dream. It had been a very nice one and she had a vague idea of what it had been last night. Soft lips, warm arms, a toneless voice, the sound of a motorcycle, the smell of crack and leather. Who was that? Well, at any rate Rouge knew what she wanted to wish in the machine. Richard had talked to her a lot about her dreams and hopes for the future. Richard had told her the machine could make her a goddess. That sounded nice, sort of. Rouge had the general idea she'd prefer the person from the dream, but Richard was never wrong unless it came to buying the right brand of soup.   
  
The phone was ringing. Eric went across the room and answered it. It was Key. "Eric, I hate your guts but I need another man to help me out."  
  
"At least your honest." Said Eric. "What do you need help with? I must admit I'm not fond of you either…"  
  
"I just asked the Chuho Fortune Teller what was in the cards and we need to get to the Asachi mansion right away. The day of reckoning is drawing near. Too near."  



	10. 100%

  
"Welcome." Said the butler, leading Rouge and Richard into the hall. It wasn't an excessively large house, but it was lavishly decorated with dark wood and gilding. A man with gray hair came into the room and smiled, beckoning for his guests to follow him. They went down a long dimly lit hall to a back closet that held an elevator. The three took the elevator to the basement floor, where a large circular platform took up about half of the room. The platform was covered in white painted titles, and in the center was a large stainless steel cylinder. Several arms jutted out from the cylinder and each arm had several fingers. There were rectangular slits in the floor of the platform behind each area under the arms. An opening in the cylinder walls had a joystick shaped handle fitted into a slide on it.  
  
"This is the home of my Gaia Machine. The inspiration and building guidelines came from several ancient texts; very old religious texts many of them. I have a special room for the texts that led me to build the Gaia Machine. But I see, Richard, that you have brought me the conduit. What is your name?" the man took Rouge's chin in his hand and looked her face over.   
  
"I'm Rachel Miu." She said blankly.   
  
"Well you are going to be our medium to contact holy Gaia. We are going to purge the universe of our sinful Earth and all the sinful creatures on it."  
  
"I am honored you have selected me." Rouge said slowly. "When will we begin the purification?"  
  
"Right now. But first, we must ensure that there will be no interruptions. You need a blood transfusion."  
  
"A…blood transfusion?"  
  
"We must protect you from dieing during the channeling procedure. There is but one thing that can kill me, and that is this sword." The man pulled back his trench coat to reveal the Sword of Damocles. Rouge gasped, something was spinning in her head.   
  
"Yes. It is a very powerful blade. I spent over thirty years searching for this sword. I finally found it; to bad I had to kill that worthless old drunkard to get it."  
  
Suddenly there was a sound of the door hitting the wall heavily and a loud gunshot. "NO YOU IDIOT!" yelled Key, as Eric fired another shot at Asachi.   
  
"Who on Earth are you?" asked Asachi calmly pulling the one bullet that had hit his arm out before the skin closed over.  
  
"You killed my father." Said Eric softly.  
  
"Oh, so you are that little boy that stabbed me after killing your worthless old father. I'm so glad to meet you again."  
  
Rouge's head was spinning with confusion. The face of the man that had just entered was very familiar, and the sight of the sword felt like a hot poker was being pressed on her brain. She fell to the ground in a faint and Asachi shouted to get her into the Gaia Machine immediately.   
  
"Key, you are the Giver. You brought me my Gaia Medium and now it all falls into place. I, the presenter of the apocalypse, will end this game. There is one more piece yet to fall into place and the hour in which it will is drawing near." Rouge was fully attached into the Gaia Machine and Evan Asachi snapped his fingers. An armed guard came through the door and escorted Key out of the room with him and Richard, leaving Eric alone in the room with Rouge.  
  
"Who are you?" asked Rouge. She sounded as if she were sleep talking.  
  
"I'm Eric. I'm not going to go on about how you have to remember me Rouge, because it's clear you're beyond that. But I want to know what Richard Asachi did to you to make you leave, and forget and why we are here now. The machine's fingers were holding Rouge and the manacles holding her legs had come out of a steel sheet that rose from the slit in the floor. Her back was to Eric, but he did place his hands on the sheet. Rouge shook her head slightly and moaned. "Tell me goddamnit. Tell me or I swear I will rip you from limb to limb." Tears stung Eric's eyes.  
  
"I see now…you're a man like Richard." Rouge was awake fully now. "Will you beat me too? And drug me? Convince me I'm a sinner who will burn for my dreams of a happy life with you? I do know who you are. The drugs are wearing off for some reason."   
  
"I can get you off the machine Rouge. We can try to escape. If we die trying, we die together at least."  
  
"No. No, Eric, there isn't any reason. This is my fate, and if I don't stay here paying for my sins then the whole world will die."  
  
"We weren't sinful Rouge." Said Eric quietly, his head bent to hide his tears though a steel sheet separated him from Rouge.  
  
"You think I believe that bastard Richard? No. The only time in this life I was ever happy was that time with you. How would you like to grow up with no father, a mother who never wanted you or your twin sister? Do you know what it's like to be completely In love at the age of 15 and then be utterly betrayed, sold as a whore to a brothel? Go from innocence to sin in one night. There were over twenty men that night. The night my life ended and my soul died. Then I met Key. He showed me you. He lied but I don't hate him anymore. I don't hate anyone. Not even Richard. Key showed me you and you made my soul rise from the grave. I broke my heart for the last time when I went to seduce Richard. I'm done now. I have no more reason to live. I'm going to die here and I know that the world will live because of my death."  
  
"Rouge… Evan Asachi isn't trying to save the world. He's out to destroy it."  
  
"I know. It won't end in tears." Said Rouge calmly. "And please, don't call me Rouge. I'm Gaia now. I was reborn today, I'm Gaia now. I can hear the melodies of billions of life songs in my head. I was slowly recreated when Richard cleansed my soul. You aren't real to me Eric. You are a phantasm of a past life."  
  
"Rouge-" Eric was at a loss of words. And it was then that Key and the Asachis came back in. "Thank you. I just wanted to make sure that we actually had a genuine Gaia Link here. You know, I tried this five years back and it failed because our Gaia wasn't pure enough. But now, let's just see what the machine has to say." The Gaia machine pulled Rouge's arm up painfully (it was connected to her via a spike in her arm) and fitted her hand around the handle in the panel. A LCD screen above the panel flickered and read 100%. "She wouldn't be 100% if she weren't ready to die." Said Evan coldly. Eric bit his lip and tasted blood. Key pulled against the guard. Evan walked over to the Gaia machine and caressed Rouge's face and throat. "You really are quite beautiful." He said in a low voice. "Richard, what does the radio say?"  
  
"There are natural disasters occurring all over the world. Tidal waves in Hawaii, tornados across North America, the glaciers are moving into Russia. Freak hurricanes are hitting all over Asia and Europe is suffering several earthquakes of high magnitude."  
  
The Earth is suffering because Rouge is suffering, thought Eric bitterly. Suddenly he knew what he had to do. He had to end it. He didn't care about dieing in any way. He just had to end it. Eric ran forward in a moment that felt like a year and pulled the Sword of Damocles from Evan's sheath. In an instant a spurt of blood sprayed from Rouge's mouth and Eric kissed her bloody lips. "I loved you as Rouge. I honor you as Gaia."  
  
"eric…" whispered Rouge as she drooled a little more dark blood. Two more great showers of blood flew into the air as she ripped her arms free of the Gaia Machine. The shackles on her legs shot back into the steel backing and Rouge fell onto Eric. He felt her sticky, warm blood soak his shirt and he fell under her sudden weight. "save me." She whispered one more time before her eyes rolled back in her head and she lay limp.  
  
Eric lay back against the metal sheet and felt his legs jerked against the backing. He cried out as the metal fingers of the Gaia Machine pierced his arms and he grabbed the handle in the cubby. The LCD screen flickered and read 93%.   
  
"You can't do anything boy, you're only 93%. 93% can't beat 100% power destruction." Mocked Evan right before Key broke free of the guard and shot Evan through the head. The guard pulled his automatic out and shot Key several times. Key fell into a pool of his own blood on top of Evan. Richard ran to Rouge and tried to pull her back from the machine as Eric strained to reached her hand to get more power. As soon as Richard brushed Rouge's skin a white ghost rose from Rouge and blew him against the wall. It looked like no human or animal or plant or any known living thing. Eric felt it a cold press against his body and drain him of his strength. The meter on the Gaia machine started dropping dramatically. Then Rouge's corpse got up. The eyes were dead and void, the limbs unanimated. But the body was moving. Eric felt stiff with terror and shock but Rouge's dead hands went over his own on the stick and the meter slowly rose up and up until it hung at 99%.   
  
Free us please  
Don't leave us like this  
Soaked with sinful blood  
We are all covered in it  
But let us take it all on  
And die together  
Even hell is bearable  
If one could stay with the other  
Because all we need is each other  
Gaia take us back  
Forgive us for our 2000-year faults  
Give us to our mother.  
  
100% 


End file.
